Private Management Group Inc. Has $18.75 Million Holdings in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC)

Private Management Group Inc. lowered its position in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) by 0.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,036,097 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 4,135 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. owned 2.55% of Ardmore Shipping worth $18,753,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ASC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 51.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 541,103 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $8,885,000 after purchasing an additional 182,650 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 15.0% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 495,593 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $8,138,000 after buying an additional 64,805 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 1st quarter valued at $714,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the first quarter worth $459,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the first quarter worth $2,149,000. 62.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

ASC traded down $0.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $14.04. 552,971 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 620,355. The company has a quick ratio of 3.18, a current ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Ardmore Shipping Co. has a one year low of $12.69 and a one year high of $23.44. The firm has a market cap of $587.46 million, a P/E ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $17.20 and its 200 day moving average is $19.29.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 36.31% and a return on equity of 24.26%. The firm had revenue of $121.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ardmore Shipping Co. will post 3.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on ASC. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $24.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Fearnley Fonds upgraded Ardmore Shipping to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.33.

About Ardmore Shipping

Ardmore Shipping Corporation engages in the seaborne transportation of petroleum products and chemicals worldwide. The company's fleet consists of 22 owned vessels including 21 Eco-design and 1 Eco-mod vessel, and four chartered-in vessels. It serves oil majors, oil companies, oil and chemical traders, chemical companies, and pooling service providers.